March 2024, the Company announced results from the Pre-feasibility Class 5 level engineering study (the “Study”) conducted by BBA on its 4 million tonne merchant pelletizer project (the “Pelletizer” or “Project”). The Project will be located on the Company’s existing leased area at the Federal Port of Saguenay, where the Provincial and Federal Governments are currently building a C$111 million multi-user conveyor system, which the Project would utilize. The Project will focus on direct reduction (“DR”) grade pellet feed that will be used in the green steel industry and is the only greenfield advanced development project of its kind in Canada.
Highlights:
- A robust economic project with an after-tax IRR of 25%
- Ability to generate US$173 million of annual EBITDA assuming a US$70/t DR grade pellet premium
- An initial capital cost of US$470 million to build the project (AACE - International Class 5 Estimate)
- A 25-month construction timeline with commissioning starting in month-27
- Pelletizing conversion costs of $16.31 per tonne of pellets
Project Description:
The Project is an iron ore pellet project (DR Grade) near available infrastructure, situated on the Port of Saguenay Industrial Development site, in the Province of Québec. The Study evaluated the construction of the pellet processing facilities, including the storage of the feed material and final products and all related infrastructure to produce DR grade pellets from iron ore concentrates.
The project is expected to benefit from several competitive advantages including:
- Location near available infrastructure including natural gas and hydro-electric power
- The Port of Saguenay is an all-year operational deep-sea port with access to the Great Lakes and the Atlantic
- A supportive Provincial government which identified high-purity iron within their critical minerals plan
- Existing Permits for the establishment of a metallurgical facility which includes a pellet operation
The Project consists of a pelletizer at the Port Saguenay site (see figure below) to process iron ore concentrate into DR grade pellets in order to supply the growing global electric arc furnace steel production market. The process flow sheet includes the multi-user conveyor system, iron ore concentrate and pellet receiving, handling and storage areas and a 4 million tonne per annum Metso pelletizing plant.
Plan Map of the Project Showing the Port Saguenay Wharf and Industrial Park
Project Timeline:
The Project benefits from the permitting work completed and has an estimated construction period of approximately 25 months following a final investment decision. Initial commission would occur in month 27 and commercial production would occur in month 30.
Strategic will continue to finalize the requested information from the Provincial Government as part of the application to amend its existing environmental authorization for the project. The timeline for the completion of the amendment once submitted is approximately 6 months.
Next Steps & Recommendations:
To progress the project development plan, Strategic will consider various steps which may include process testwork, confirmation of iron concentrate and additives supply, development of the engineering including the material handling systems and certain feasibility, basic and detailed levels of engineering for the plant, certain site geotechnical and environmental work, application to modify the existing environmental authorization, details on the contract strategy, finalize Metso scope and contract, finalize agreements on services with the port authority, natural gas supply, electricity supply, additional land leasing for the storage areas and final construction and ramp up schedules, among other activities related to the project development.
Study Summary:
The economic evaluation of the Pelletizer was performed using a discounted cash flow model on a pre-tax and post-tax basis. The capital and operating cost estimates were developed based on using Q1 2024 costs and assume a constant cost basis throughout the cash flow model. The Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) on total investment was calculated based on 100% equity financing. The net present values (“NPV”) were calculated with a discount rate of 8% and an assumed 50-year project life.